Cats And Cardboard Boxes

9 cats playing with cardboard boxes.



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A Gentle Reminder

Or else?

(via Bad Menu)

Vintage Prams

Various methods of baby transport have been used across different cultures and periods and for different ages of children. The larger and heavier perambulators or prams, which had become popular during the Victorian era, were replaced by lighter and more flexible designs during the latter half of the 1900s.

(via Everlasting Blort)

Death Valley Comes To Life

image credit: Marc Cooper

In October 2015, Death Valley National Park announced that a super bloom may be possible coming into February this year because of the autumn rainstorm, which was a key factor for the early sprouting of annual wildflowers seeds.

The park said the predicted El Niño weather pattern could bring regular rain throughout winter to keep the plants growing and blooming. The last super bloom occurred in February 2005.

(thanks Cora)

Jumbo Landing

It's an oldie but still a goldie. Very rare jumbo landing.



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12 Grilling Mistakes You Don't Have to Make (But Probably Do)

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There are plenty of amazing backyard cooks who take a structured, scientific approach to good grilling and reap the flavorful rewards because of it.

But there are just as many who think that all it takes to put together a successful backyard cookout is the ability to buy some steaks and light a fire. Here are some of the most common mistakes beginning grillers make and how to avoid them.

5 Myths And Facts About Your Microwave

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It is a fact that microwave cooking has sparked a number of myths since the 'space oven's' creation. Here are the most common microwave myths, and the ones are legit.

(via Neatorama)

The 2016 Oscar Best Picture Nominees, But With Puppies

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How A Basket On Wheels Revolutionized Grocery Shopping

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The shopping cart leads a sad, under-appreciated existence. He is pushed around. He is battered by cart collectors, and mauled by unattentive parking lot drivers. He is left for dead in dark alleyways.

We take shopping carts for granted. After all, how would we buy a 16-pound bag of jumbo shrimp at Costco without the assistance of his sinewy, steel arms? How would we keep our children from wreaking havoc on the soup can aisle without his handy baby seat?

Hunting Season

(via Bad Newspaper)

Sticky

Sticky is about an adorable and hungry chameleon and a taunting insect that takes advantage of him.



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(thanks Cora)

A Guide To Pizza Styles Of Italy

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Pizza Napoletana is the classic pizza that Italians are excited to show off, and rightfully so. But look beyond the touristy pizzerias and check out the local bakeries and street vendors instead to find regional specialties, some of which most likely predate the Napoletana. From the fluffy sfincione to the many-layered scaccia, Italians have a lot more pizza goodness to share - you just need to know where to look.

Pizza Napoletana and 10 other reasons to go to Italy.

10 Forgotten Kingdoms Lost To History

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Although most people know of large kingdoms like the Romans or the Ottomans, many kingdoms in history have disappeared from public knowledge. These kingdoms were important in ancient history but sadly remain forgotten by most modern people.

Boneshaker Endless Slogans

Boneshaker, one slogan doesn't do it justice.



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Bizarre Cameras Used Before GoPros Existed

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What did we do before GoPro? When it comes to capturing speed, back in the day, photogs tied themselves to the back of cars, hung off of trucks and then when that wasn't enough, they jury-rigged point-of-view cameras on the helmets of racers with metal brackets, cordes and special made contraptions.

The Norway Spiral

image credit: Bill Davis

On December 9, 2009, a curious spiral of blue and white light appeared in the night sky over northern Norway and Sweden, freaking out a section of the public and generating an intense debate among astronomers and scientists as well as conspiracy theorists.

Everything from anomalous Northern lights, to aliens and a trans-dimensional wormhole was suggested. The light was seen from all across northern Norway as well as from northern Sweden, and was reported to have lasted for 10 minutes.

Moscow: Beautiful Winter

All of Moscow's beautiful places covered in snow and ice: Kremlin, Red square, Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, St. Basil's Cathedral, Gorky park, Novodevichiy monastery and much more.



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(thanks Cora)

9 Things Lost Or Found On Trains

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Can you imagine someone leaving a 300-year-old Stradivarius violin on a train. It happened. Just as it happened with a painting by Gauguin or a boa constrictor.
Here are 9 things lost or found on trains.

8 Buildings Transformed Into Something New

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Nothing exudes charm and architectural interest like a reclaimed building. Having the vision to turn a dilapidated building into a new concept and breathe life into a historical structure is one of the greatest gifts that an architect can give.

The common thread that unites them all is that they are able to maintain significant elements of the original structure while simultaneously integrating modern and functional design elements.

Beauty - Amazing Classical Paintings In Motion

Beauty is a tour through the human life cycle - from birth to death - that draws on classical paintings to tell the story in an absorbing way.



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(thanks Cora)

What Fruits And Vegetables Looked Like Before We Domesticated Them

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Next time you bite into a slice of watermelon or a cob of corn, consider this: these familiar fruits and veggies didn't always look and taste this way. Humans have been tweaking the genetics of our favourite produce for millennia.

Selective breeding is a slow process whereby farmers select and grow crops with those traits over time. From bananas to eggplant, here are some of the foods that looked totally different before humans first started growing them for food.

All Roads Lead To Rome

There is a saying that all roads lead to Rome. At least for Europe it is obvious: All roads lead to Rome! You can reach the eternal city on almost 500.000 routes from all across the continent.

Benedikt Grossand Philipp Schmitt set out on a digital navigation quest. They checked 3.375.746 journeys to see if that was really true. The result of this quest are these interactive maps documented by Raphael Reimann.

How Do We Know What Air is Like on Other Planets?

How do we know what the air is like on planets we haven't visited? This video explains how to see air from 150 light years away.



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Why Is It 'Eleven, Twelve' Instead of 'Oneteen, Twoteen'?

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English number words are pretty logical after a point. From twenty-one to ninety-nine, the same principle applies: you say the tens place followed by the units place. But the teens are different. Not only does the ten come after the units place (10+7 is not teen-seven but seventeen), eleven and twelve don't fit in at all.

How The Women-Led 'Bread Boycotts' Changed 20th Century Food Pricing

image credit Library of Congress

It all started in October 1966 when Mrs. Paul West complained to a Denver grocer that the price on a jar of olives had gone up four times in a month. The grocer told her to 'stick to your cooking and let us decide prices.'

Mrs. West promptly organized a boycott of five supermarket chains on behalf of her group, Housewives for Lower Food Prices. Within a week the boycott had swept across the nation and beyond, crossing the border to Canada.

Blacky The Emu

Blacky the Emu discovers a sprinkler. Shower time!



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15 Of History's Greatest Mad Scientists

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When it comes to scientists, brilliance and eccentricity seem to go hand in hand. Some of the most innovative minds in human history have also been the strangest. From eccentric geniuses to the downright insane, here are some of history's greatest mad scientists.

Closing Down

He's gone!

(via Bad Menu)

How About A Game Of Pool?

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Why is the game of pool so popular? Besides being fun, perhaps the reason lies in it's class-less nature. Much like horse racing, the game of pool is enjoyed by both the rich and the poor, by commoners and kings alike.

The Sea Sponge Could Be The First Animal On Earth

New genetic analyses led by MIT researchers confirm that sea sponges are the source of a curious molecule found in rocks that are 640 million years old.

These rocks significantly predate the Cambrian explosion - the period in which most animal groups took over the planet, 540 million years ago - suggesting that sea sponges may have been the first animals to inhabit the Earth.



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Earth Could Be Unique Among 700 Quintillion Planets In The Universe

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So much of humanity's astronomical research is based around the notion of finding something like us out there. But what if - statistically speaking - the odds are stacked against us finding another planet even remotely like Earth?

That's the thinking behind a new study by an international team of researchers, which has taken what we know about the exoplanets that lie outside our Solar System and fed the data into a computer model.

The Pigment Library At Harvard

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A piece of rare lapis lazuli stone from quarries in Afghanistan, secretions from on ocean-dwelling snail Bolinus brandaris and dried bodies of tiny insects Coccus ilicis are just some of the bizarre treasures housed in the long row of cabinets in the Harvard Art Museums' Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies.

This remarkable materials collection, some of which date back more than a hundred years and come from all over the world, represents raw materials from which pigments, dyes and binding media were traditionally made before synthetic pigments became available.

Boston Dynamics' Atlas, The Next Generation Robot

A new version of Atlas, designed to operate outdoors and inside buildings. It is specialized for mobile manipulation.



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The Amazing Story Of How The Microwave Was Invented By Accident

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The dull halogen light. The humming that terminates in a 'beep'. Today the sights, sounds, and smells of the microwave oven are immediately familiar to most people.

The microwave is beloved for its speed and ease of use. But what you might not know about your indispensable kitchen appliance is that it was invented utterly by accident one fateful day 70 years ago.

The Protective Paw Of Bastet

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The ancient Egyptians held cats in the highest esteem. They worshipped a Cat Goddess called Bastet, often represented as half feline, half woman.

Bastet is still considered by many to be the protectress of felines. Now, thanks to the Cat Museum of San Francisco you can place your cat under the protection of the Cat Goddess, Bastet.

(thanks Cora)

The Chemistry Of Matches (In Super Slow Motion)

To fire up the grill or the gas stove, we often reach for a match. It turns out there's a lot of chemistry going on to make those little wooden wonders work. The best way to find out about the chemistry of burning matches is to watch it in ultra-slow motion.



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The Surprisingly Complex Chemistry Of The Humble Potato

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Baked, mashed, boiled, fried - in a general sense, it's hard to do potatoes wrong. There's something about the fluffiness of a well-baked potato, the crunch of a nice chip, the creaminess of mash that warms the heart, as well as the taste buds.

But not all potatoes love the deep fat fryer, and not every variety will sing in a salad. Take a look at the secret properties that make certain potatoes the right one for the job.

Papa

When an eccentric inventor realizes he's not a perfect father, he tries to make one.



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(thanks Cora)

Before Cat Memes, There Were Louis Wain's Controversial Cat Illustrations

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Some of today's cat lovers flood the internet with anthromorphized felines. But Victorian-era Englanders also found representations of the pets to obsess over - namely, the cats drawn by prolific illustrator Louis Wain, whose cartoonish animals populated the era's magazines, children's books, and postcards.

Vending Machine Restaurant

Jihankishokudo in Isesaki City in Japan combines technology with convenience. The owner wanted to make a place where anyone can go to get a meal and have fun. There's no staff, it's super clean and it's fast abd cheap.



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Why Being Bald Is Better

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A comb over is a hairstyle worn by bald or balding men in which the hair is grown long and combed over the bald area to minimize the evidence of baldness.

Sometimes the part is lowered so that more hair can be used to cover the balding area. But most of the time it isn't looking that good. If you're going bald, just go bald. These 12 comb overs are completely out of control.

(via Neatorama)

Newspaper Claims Six Awards

Certainly not for spelling.

(via Bad Newspaper)

Scientists Can't Agree On Whether Or Not Salt Is Bad For You

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For decades, public health officials have told us that salt is pretty bad for you. Meanwhile, others have repeatedly questioned the scientific basis of that claim.

In fact, a new study finds, it's all a bit worse than that: Not only is the science decidedly unsettled, the debate is so polarized that no one's getting any closer to real answers.

Tallest Ladder Balanced On Chin

Quincy Mack balanced a 16-foot ladder on his chin, a new world record.



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(thanks David)

NASA Says It's Possibe To Reach Mars In A Few Days

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It is estimated that a journey from Earth to Mars takes between 150-300 days depending on the speed of the launch and the alignment of Earth and Mars.

Now, NASA says a new form of laser-based propulsion could get us to Mars faster than has ever been possible.

Scientists Build the World's Tiniest Rotary Motor

A team of physicists led by Philip Ketterer of the Technical University of Munich have just built, molecule by molecule, the smallest rotary engine ever created by man.

Only 40 nanometers tall, the tiny device is made of three separate components that click together to form crude versions of an axle bearing and a spinning crank lever. The motor looks like a half a helicopter blade, and it creates forward thrust through the rotational motion of that blade.

Lake Superior Ice Stacking

Ice stacking at Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota. The video is being shown at normal speed.



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Wayne The Stegosaurus

Wayne has a deluded yet charming sense of the world that he lives in.



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17 International Borders Around Asia

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Traveling around Asia is a backpacker's dream, and whenever possible, the goal is to cover most of the areas with their feet on the ground. However, traveling by land doesn't mean you'll get away from immigration offices and borders.

Some borders may look like your typical fenced land, some have unique structures, some look worthy enough to be in a postcard, and some are lost in the middle of nowhere.

Lab-Grown Meat

While your standard steak, chicken drumstick or pork chop is originally farmed from an animal that is killed for its meat, lab-grown meat cuts out the animal completely and grows muscle cells extracted from the animal in the laboratory for a slaughter-free meal.

Steampunk Guitar

This Steampunk 3D printed guitar was made by ODD Guitars from New Zealand. The guitar features a 3D printed body with moving gears and piston. The steampunk paint job was done by New Zealand airbrush artist Ron van Dam.



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7 Times Mathematics Became Art And Blew Our Minds

While maths might seem like a purely formulaic pursuit, the patterns and ratios it produces can help create some of history's most striking works of art. Just take a look at Leonardo Da Vinci's geometric sketches or M. C. Escher's mathematically accurate prints.

But it's not just historically - even today, mathematicians and artists are bringing their skills together to create some truly beautiful works. And with the help of computers, they've taken things to a whole new level. Here are 7 recent adventures in maths and art.

10 Amazing Facts About The New Ninth Planet

In early January, the news that an immense ninth planet likely exists beyond Pluto set the scientific community ablaze. We still have a lot to learn about this potential new solar sibling, but we do know that it's huge - at least 10 times as massive as the Earth.

The astronomers who discovered it even nicknamed it 'Fatty.' And the fact that such a huge body has gone undetected just goes to show how little we truly know about our own solar system and how much science has left to teach us.

Charting Culture

This animation distils hundreds of years of culture into just five minutes. A team of historians and scientists wanted to map cultural mobility, so they tracked the births and deaths of notable individuals like David, King of Israel, and Leonardo da Vinci, from 600 BC to the present day.

Using them as a proxy for skills and ideas, their map reveals intellectual hotspots and tracks how empires rise and crumble.



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(via Reality Carnival)

Lost Tapes Reveal Apollo Astronauts Heard Unexplained 'Music' On Far Side Of The Moon

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The crew of the Apollo 10 mission to the moon were so startled when they encountered strange music-like radio transmissions coming through their headsets, they didn't know whether or not to report it to NASA, it's been revealed.

The unexplained 'music' transmission lasted almost an hour, and just before the astronauts regained radio contact with Earth, they discussed whether or not to tell Mission Control what they had experienced.

Is Breakfast Really The Most Important Meal Of The Day?

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In the middle of the last century, popular nutrition author Adelle Davis advised people to eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.

Recent examination of the merits of adults eating breakfast has raised the question of whether we should indeed eat like kings at breakfast or just skip it all together.

M1A1 Tanks Drifting In Snow

U.S. Marines M1A1 tank crews work with the Norwegian Telemark Battalion on techniques of driving tracked vehicles in winter conditions on an snow and ice. The training exercise is designed to improve U.S. Marine Corps capability to operate in cold-weather environments.



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(thanks Cora)

Fantasy Canyon, Utah

image credit: rjcox

Fantasy Canyon is located about 25 miles south of Vernal, in northeastern Utah, United States. This small area, which is not really a canyon, is packed with some of the most uniquely weathered rock formations bearing colorful descriptive names such as 'Flying Witch,' 'Screaming Man' and 'Alien Head.'

The Physics Of The Perfect Chocolate

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The rich, creamy, shiny-smooth flavor and texture of a perfectly prepared chocolate is unlike any other culinary delight in all the world. Yet if you're not careful, your chocolate could wind up a disaster in any number of ways.

But all of these pitfalls are avoidable with a little bit of science. By looking at the physics of chocolate, we can understand exactly how these imperfections happen, how to avoid them all, and how to coax our chocolate into doing exactly what we want.

'Hairy Panic' Tumbleweed Takes Over Australian Homes

A fast-growing tumbleweed known as 'hairy panic' took over the Victorian rural town of Wangaratta with homes clogged by the weed and frustrated residents complaining of the clean-up time.

As winds pick up, the wild tumbleweed has covered properties, gardens and garages. The tumbleweed has been around for a couple of years, but the dry conditions have made this summer the worst.



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Here's What It Was Like To Be Mansa Musa, The Richest Person In History

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Musa Keita I (1280-1337) was the tenth Mansa (king) of the wealthy West African Mali Empire. He is thought to be the richest person of all time. His fortune was incomprehensible. He ruled the Mali Empire in the 14th century and his land was laden with lucrative natural resources, most notably gold.

The Sneaky Life Of The World's Most Mysterious Plant

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The plant is called Boquila trifoliolata, and it lives in the temperate rain forests of Chile and Argentina. It does what most vines do - it crawls across the forest floor, spirals up, and hangs onto host plants.

But one day a few years ago, Ernesto Gianoli, a plant scientist, came upon a Boquila trifoliolata while walking with a student in the Chilean woods. They stopped, looked, and then it happened.

Gateway To The Ganges

Daily life in the Indian cities of Rishikesh, Haridwar, and Devprayag. This region lies in the foothills of the Himalayas where the Ganges River descends from the mountains.

The beauty of nature and the Hindu ceremonies contrasted with the poverty and suffering on the streets. The people of these cities have a high-spirited resilience that seemed to stem from surviving and maintaining their devotion through a challenging life.



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(thanks Cora)

6 Dated Fashions That Are Still In Style

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A style that's been around a long time is called 'classic.' Even if it's much older than you think.
Here are 6 dated fashions that are still in style.

The Paris Exposition Universelle

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To mark the 100-year anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, France held a spectacular World's Fair, called the Exposition Universelle, in 1889. As a welcome for visitors, a colossal entrance arch was constructed near the banks of the Seine: the Eiffel Tower.

Dozens of ornate pavilions and exhibition halls were erected across 240 acres, containing displays of art, crafts, industry, machines and new inventions. In addition to showing off French achievements, the exposition also displayed exhibits from around the world.

All The Vertical Take-Off And Landing Jet Aircraft In History

From the Harrier to the F-35B Lightning II, vertical take-off and landing jet aircraft are some of the most amazing around. These fantastic machines were of strategic importance because they limited the need for runways.



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(thanks Cora)

Kayan People - Amazing Vintage Portraits Of Padaung Women In The 1950s

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The Kayan are a subgroup of the Red Karen (also known as Karenni people), a Tibeto-Burman ethnic minority of Myanmar (Burma). The Kayan Lahwi subgroup of the Kayan are also known as Padaung, who in tourism brochures are often called 'Long Neck Karen.' Some amazing vintage photos of Kayan women taken in the middle 1950s will give you a better idea.

These 5 Dogs Of War Took It To America's Enemies

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Working dogs are an integral part of modern military life, but dogs have been accompanying humans into combat since before recorded history. Alexander the Great's dog, Peritas, took down a charging elephant.

An unnamed Newfoundland rescued Napoleon during his escape from exile on the Isle of Elba. The Dog of Robert the Bruce defended the Scottish King from English troops. Here are five more pups whose bravery is awe-inspiring.

Scientists Discover A Boiling River In The Amazon

Deep in the heart of the Amazon, legends tell of a river so hot that it boils from below. As a geoscientist, Andrés Ruzo's training told him the stories couldn't be true. But that was before he saw the river with his own eyes.

The river turned out to be no legend at all, but the sacred geothermal healing site of Mayantuyacu, nestled deep in the Peruvian rainforest. Up to 82 feet (25 meters) wide and 20 feet (six meters) deep, the river surges for nearly 4 miles at temperatures hot enough to brew tea. And a small portion of it is so hot that it actually boils.

The Fit Nesting Doll

Lots of people join a gym at the beginning of the year, then quit within a few months. To keep customers coming back, CrossFit chain Brick and agency BBDO New York created a series of custom nesting dolls that illustrate the stages of progress that gymgoers will see if they stick with their fitness plans.



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(via Adweek)

Apps In Real-Time

While it's second nature for you to WhatsApp a winky face across the ocean, or stream cat videos on your evening commute, your little phone is sending signals to outer space like a handheld piece of magic.

Retale tracked the real-time activity of some of the world's most beloved apps to bring you these data clusters - click on each one to reveal fascinating fun facts.

(thanks Michael)

7 Amazing Things You Probably Didn't Know About REM Sleep

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The mysterious phase of deep sleep when our most vivid dreams occur has long fascinated scientists and artists. But it wasn't until the 1950s that sleep period - also known as rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep - was actually discovered and documented in a lab.

You've certainly heard the term REM sleep before, but do you really know what it is - and what's going on in your brain during this critical time?

Jurassic Paso Park

A man dressed as a dinosaur. Riding a horse. Kicking a giant football. Why? I don't know!



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Russians Built A Turbojet Train In The 1960s

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During the heat of the cold war between the Soviet Union and the United States in the 1960s, both countries experimented with the idea of a turbojet train.

It is debated about which country first came up with the idea, but somewhere in time it was decided that strapping jet engines to a normal rail car was a good idea. What was long thought to be destroyed, a Russian turbojet train was found on an abandoned back rail line.

10 Common Misconceptions About Food Safety

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Most people have encountered some bacteria at some point in their lives, whether it was acquired from restaurant food or a grocery store, which caused them to claim they later had food poisoning.

There are multiple nasty bacteria that can cause this, and there are many misconceptions about how they end up in our food, and what the best ways to avoid them are. Here are several misconceptions about food safety and the practices involved that can leave us satisfied, or ruin our day with stomach churning nastiness.

The Hato Caves

Carved out over the course of millennia into the region's limestone landscape, the Hato Caves are found next to Curaçao's international airport. In the past, these caves served as a shelter for the Arwak Indians and a hiding spot for runaway slaves, and are now a popular tourist attraction.